cognitive
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to cognition; concerned with the act or process of knowing, perceiving, etc. .
cognitive development;
cognitive functioning.
-
of or relating to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cognitive
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin cognitīvus, equivalent to Latin cognit(us) “learned, known” ( see cognition) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
If it's related to thinking, it's considered cognitive. Anxious parents might defend using flashcards with toddlers as "nurturing their cognitive development." The adjective, cognitive, comes from the Latin cognoscere "to get to know" and refers to the ability of the brain to think and reason as opposed to feel. A child's cognitive development is the growth in his or her ability to think and solve problems. Many English words that involve knowing and knowledge have cogn- in them such as cognizant "aware of" and recognize "to know someone in the present because you knew them from the past."
Vocabulary lists containing cognitive
In the Know: Cogn, Conn
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Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Vocabulary from "There Will Never Be an Age of Artificial Intimacy," by Sherry Turkle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, standard cognitive testing can be difficult to repeat frequently because it takes time and people often improve simply from becoming familiar with the tests.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
They also suggest that combining speech analysis with other health measures could make early detection of cognitive decline more accurate, practical, and widely available.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
By refusing to spend cognitive resources on trivial choices Simon saved them for the work that mattered.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
A three-year Johns Hopkins controlled trial showed that hearing aids significantly reduced the rate of cognitive decline among older adults at risk of dementia—and reduced the risk of falls.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
Working with him was Broadbent, who at seventeen had observed pilot error in the RAF, and who was on his way to becoming a godfather of cognitive psychology.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
